New Hermes Carre H - A Curvy Square

Prominent Parisian purveyor of pricey premium products Hermès have recently announced the launch of a new addition to their collection of timepieces. The Hermès Carré H will be released in a limited edition of 173 pieces - denoting the number of years since the founding of the luxury goods family company in 1837. Employing the skills of renowned French designer and architect Marc Berthier, the company set him the brief to create “what a Hermès timepiece for a travelling dandy might look like”. The result is a clever microbead blasted titanium cased carré design incorporating the Hermès signature stirrup theme with strap loops in lieu of more conventional lugs.

Berthier's take on the shape of the case was to maintain the lines of a square yet remove every sharp or right angle from it, with the result being an almost pebble-smooth finish, curving round as the flanks join the caseback which has a sapphire crystal exhibition window through which can be seen the decorated Girard-Perregaux Calibre 3200 automatic movement.

The bezel is highly polished and it contrasts against the gunmetal grey of the case and beneath the sapphire crystal the dial is an unapologetic art deco throwback and perpetuates the watch's carré theme featuring square small seconds within a square recess as well as classic period baton hour markers and hands.

The strap is black Barenia calfskin with titanium tang buckle.

This is a lovely designer's watch - not as in 'designer watch' like you can pick up for a tenner in your nearest shopping centre - but as in the execution of Berthier's concept. It's almost too nice to limit to just the planned 173 pieces.

Who knows, if it is well received and sells as quickly as is hoped, then maybe we'll see a more widely available model sometime in the future.